MÃ¡s Chagoya

I had every intention of posting my take on Enrique Chagoyaâ€™s â€œBorderlandiaâ€ exhibit a week ago but alas, things didnâ€™t go as planned. I still want to share my thoughts because itâ€™s a great exhibit and not to be missed.

I canâ€™t remember exactly where I first saw Enrique Chagoyaâ€™s work. More than likely it was in the book â€œFriendly Cannibals,â€ a collaboration between Chagoya and the Mexican-American performance poet Guillermo Gomez-Pena but the specifics arenâ€™t really important. What I do know is that I immediately and viscerally responded to his work.

I was a visual arts student at the time making things like paintings, handmade artists books and silkscreened collages. Looking at Chagoyaâ€™s one-of-a kind and limited edition artists books which pay homage to Aztec and Mayan codexes, I found something I could relate to both culturally and visually. His imagery borrowed heavily from sources like comic books, religious iconography, historical woodcuts, vintage magazines and medical textbooks. The techniques lept from bookmaking and printmaking to drawing and painting, all mediums I was interested in.

I was also familiar with some of the subjects his work addressed (colonialism, culture clash, immigration issues, appropriating imagery.) But to me, the ways these issues were presented and explored was something entirely exciting and new.

Nearly a decade later, viewing the work at BAM only enhances the sense of amazement I felt when first looking at Chagoyaâ€™s work. Thereâ€™s beautifully collaged artists books, satirical charcoal drawings and blistering prints. Yes, his subjects come from politics (war, the military, American foreign policy, immigration,) religion, and race relations but itâ€™s the humor he injects into his work that distinguishes him from other artists working in similar genres. I also like his visual vocabulary…the images of Mickey Mouse, Superman, Aztec deities repeated over and over is part of Chagoya’s highly specific visual language. Their meanings are often mutable and change depending on the context. Chagoyaâ€™s technical prowess and his ability to move from intaglio printmaking to large oil painting to collage to book art with seeming ease is equally admirable.

And yes, Chagoyaâ€™s artwork might not be for everyone. In fact, some people will probably find his work offensive. Chagoya seems O.K. with that. â€œThis is just a drawing,â€ is the way he responded at a recent artistâ€™s lecture to a question about slack he might receive about his satirical artwork, especially in light of the recent death threats against a Danish artist for his political cartoons. And heâ€™s right. At the end of the day, it is just a drawing, just a painting, just a collage and sure, it might not be something youâ€™d want to place in your house. But itâ€™s vitally important that it exists.